UNDP is the UN’s global development organisation that supports countries around the world in their efforts to successfully address diverse development challenges, framed around three broad settings which require different forms of support: eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions; accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development; and building resilience to crises and shocks. Pacific Islands countries (PICs) boast “big ocean” economies, with young and mobile and highly adaptative societies. Past and recent investments have however fallen short of developing diverse economies offering inclusive services and opportunities, resilient to external shocks and the increasing pace of climate disasters. While the scale of Pacific economies does not allow them to respond to all challenges alone, public investment and revenues would gain from empowered officials accountable to keep basic service delivery and development priorities in mind while driving fiscal decisions.

What is the Vaka Pasifica project?

The “Accountable Public Finances to serve Pacific people – Vaka Pasifika” project (hereafter Vaka Pasifika project) aims to strengthen the governance mechanisms enabling Pacific countries to deliver calibrated public services to meet specific needs of the people. Funded by the European Union, the project’s focus is to ensure that scarce Pacific resources are better managed and the base available for achieving national development goals will be increased. This will require PIC economies to establish stable and reliable regulations implementing the right mix of creativity and rigor informed by ground reality.

The project will help in:

• Creating a platform for Pacific experts, decision-makers and thinkers to design tailored solutions that can be supported through funding and technical assistance.
• Strengthening the collaboration between government agencies and civil society organizations
• Supporting Supreme Audit Institutions and reliable independent entities contributing to the accountability and oversight of public finance
• Scaling-up the work of the civil society organizations, including Piango (Pacific Islands Association of Nongovernmental organisations) to champion for financial resources managed by governments and institutions to respond to the realities and needs of Pacific populations
• Empowering change makers, think tanks and media to rethink the systems and enable communications and discussions in order to spread awareness and encourage accountability.

The second phase of the Vaka Pasifika project (2022-2026) will build on the results of the “Strengthening Public Finance Management and Governance in the Pacific” (PFM) project implemented between 2018 and 2022. Funded by the European Union, the Vaka Pasifika project is a EUR6million project implemented between July 2022 and December 2026 by UNDP and its partner PIANGO.

The project is taking as a point of departure that our partners should not have to constantly prove that they can deliver reports. The Vaka Pasifika project team constantly focuses on reducing the workload of partners and focusing on results. The candidates for these positions need to be solution orientated, constantly seeking to work smart and find ways to maximise the impact, partnerships and relationships of the projects through seamless administrative and logistical support. 

The scope of work of the Project Assistant is outlined below. He/She will be responsible for supporting the Vaka Pasifika Project.

Assist in the administration and implementation of Vaka Pasifika Project delivery, adapt processes and procedures, and support results-based management, by focusing on the achievement of the following results, including but not limited to:

• Logistical and administrative arrangements for conferences/workshops/Forums/meetings/other undertaken by the Vaka Pasifika team or partners;
• Creating information packages, letters of invitation, press release and note-taking and other relevant documentation for events, as well as liaising with partners and participants in relation to the above-related activities;
• Process procurement requests and assist contracting processes, constantly seeking solutions to provide the needed expertise to the project with short turnaround times;
• Assist Staff/ Participants Travel Claims and other travel related processes in line with financial procedures and other actions required by the project;
• Assist in the logistical arrangements of the project team, including for visiting missions, in obtaining visas for Staff/ others travelling to the field and in tracking the overall work of the team;
• Ensure project tracking and management tools (online / excel) are fully up-to-date on a weekly basis (minimum) and communicate challenges and information ahead of time;
• Preparing timely disbursement of payments and acquittals accordingly with support from finance officer where necessary);
• Preparing bank documents, e.g. T/T and assist in banking runs for events. Timely entering of vendor profiles and other information collection;
• Maintenance of data-base, filling systems, ensuring up-to-date files on a weekly basis;
• Presenting information/ reports for identification of areas for support and interventions
• Provide support to data collection and reporting of the project (activity reports, indicators, preparation/review/comments of reports);
• Manage office supply for the teams and related project events and anticipate needs for promotional material.

Provide support and assistance to the UN-PRAC team in the management of Project initiatives/ activities:

• Assist in the collection and presentation of researched information for Project concepts, and draft Project documents, work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements, MOUs, contracts and other relevant documentation.
• Assist in the initiation of a project, if required.
• Assist in the follow-up on performance indicators/ success criteria, targets and milestones, preparation/review/comments of/on reports.
• Assist in the preparation of Project work-plan and results-based reporting.

Participate in knowledge building and knowledge sharing – up to 10% of the time of the project assistant (depending on context) will be allocated to initiatives linked to knowledge building and sharing and initiated by the staff themselves objectives will be set with Project Manager on a bi-annual basis

• Dissemination of information on the Vaka Pasifika Project, such as on its initiatives/ activities, to partner Governments/ stakeholders, UN agencies, donors and development partners.
• Coordination /liaison on editing and lay-out work of Vaka Pasifika Project reports before publishing.
• Coordinate post-production work for publications.
• Maintaining a knowledge management database for the Project.
• Engage in community of practice with partners and grantees and ,conduct knowledge sharing activities
• Constantly seek ways to improve and streamline the coordination and processes of the project team and the efficiency of processes

Any other duty(s) assigned by the Project Managers Vaka Pasifika.